AN A L Y T I C A L

PAR A G R A P H

BY:- SKD
ANALYTICAL PARAGRAPH WRITING

• AN ANALYTICAL PARAGRAPH IS A FORM OF DESCRIPTIVE WRITING WHICH IS WRITTEN ON THE BASIS OF

A GIVEN CHART, GRAPH, DATA, OUTLINE, CLUES, TABLE, ETC. WHEN WRITING AN ANALYTICAL
PARAGRAPH, ONE SHOULD REMEMBER TO DESCRIBE THE FACTS IN THE BEST POSSIBLE MANNER AND TO
COVER THE INFORMATION PROVIDED.
DATA INTERPRETATION
• DATA INTERPRETATION IS THE PROCESS OF ASSIGNING MEANING TO THE COLLECTED INFORMATION AND
DETERMINING THE CONCLUSIONS, SIGNIFICANCE, AND IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS. THE GOAL OF
THE INTERPRETATION OF DATA IS TO HIGHLIGHT USEFUL INFORMATION AND SUGGEST CONCLUSIONS.

• BASIC ENGLISH GRAMMAR RULES CAN BE TRICKY. IN THIS ARTICLE, WE’LL GET YOU STARTED WITH THE
BASICS OF SENTENCE STRUCTURE, PUNCTUATION, PARTS OF SPEECH, AND MORE.
• THE ANALYTICAL PARAGRAPH HAS TO BE WRITTEN IN AROUND 100-120 WORDS. SO THE PARAGRAPH
MUST USE CLEAR AND CRISP LANGUAGE ALONG WITH PROVIDING COMPLETE DETAILS OF THE CHART
GIVEN IN THE QUESTION. THERE WILL BE AN INTERNAL CHOICE GIVEN.

• YOU NEED TO ATTEMPT ONE QUESTION OUT OF THE TWO QUESTIONS OF ANALYTICAL PARAGRAPHS GIVEN
AS A CHOICE. THE QUESTION CARRIES 5 MARKS.
FEATURES OF AN ANALYTICAL PARAGRAPH WRITING-

• IT DESCRIBES THE GIVEN CHART, TABLE, DATA, GRAPH, CUES ETC.

• IT SHOULD BE BRIEF AND COMPREHENSIVE (INCLUDE COMPLETE INFORMATION) AT THE SAME TIME.
• IT SHOULD STATE FACTS THAT ARE PROVIDED BY THE CHART.
• IT IS NECESSARY TO MAKE USE OF SIMPLE AND ACCURATE LANGUAGE.
• IT SHOULD MENTION FIGURES AND QUANTITIES APPROPRIATELY.
• IT IS APPROPRIATE TO USE THE SAME TENSE THROUGHOUT THE ANALYTICAL PARAGRAPH.
• NO PERSONAL OBSERVATION OR RESPONSE SHOULD BE PROVIDED.
• IT WOULD BE PREFERABLE TO USE THE PASSIVE FORM OF THE VERB.
FORMAT

• AN ANALYTICAL PARAGRAPH SHALL BE DIVIDED INTO THREE PARTS-

• INTRODUCTION
• BODY OF THE PARAGRAPH AND;
• CONCLUSION
FORMAT OF ANALYTICAL PARAGRAPH WRITING

INTRODUCTION
(EXPLAIN IN ONE OR TWO LINES THE SUBJECT OF THE GRAPH GIVEN)
BODY
(EXPLAIN IN DETAIL WHAT THE GRAPH IS ABOUT, USE RELEVANT FIGURES, EXPLAIN TRENDS, MAKE
COMPARISONS AND CONTRASTS, DIVIDE INTO SUB PARAGRAPHS, IF REQUIRED)
CONCLUSION
(CONCLUDE THE PARAGRAPH GIVING THE OVERALL VIEW OR SUMMARY OF THE GRAPH)
LET US DISCUSS EACH OF THESE IN DETAIL -
1. THE INTRODUCTION

• THE INTRODUCTION IS THE FIRST PARAGRAPH THAT SHOULD DESCRIBE IN BRIEF WHAT THE GRAPH IS
ABOUT. IT SHOULD BE LIKE AN OPENING PARAGRAPH THAT INTRODUCES THE READER TO THE CONTEXT OF
THE CHART GIVEN. WHEN WRITING THE INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPH, YOU NEED NOT GO INTO THE
DETAILS. YOU JUST NEED TO MENTION WHAT IS CLEARLY EVIDENT FROM THE CHART OR THE GRAPH
GIVEN IN THE QUESTION. IT IS BEST TO WRITE THE INTRODUCTION IN ONE OR TWO LINES.
2. THE BODY OF THE PARAGRAPH

• THIS PART OF THE ANALYTICAL PARAGRAPH SHOULD CONTAIN DETAILS OF THE GRAPH/CHART GIVEN IN
THE QUESTION. IT SHOULD CONTAIN ALL THE IMPORTANT INFORMATION. IT IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT
TO CHOOSE THE SIGNIFICANT DETAILS THAT SHOULD BE INCLUDED IN THE PARAGRAPH.
THE BODY CAN BE BROKEN INTO TWO OR THREE SUB-PARAGRAPHS DEPENDING ON THE INFORMATION
EXTRACTED FROM THE GRAPH
BREAKING THE BODY INTO
SUBPARAGRAPHS MAKES IT EASY FOR
THE READER TO UNDERSTAND.
I. ORGANIZING INFORMATION: 

• YOU SHOULD LOOK FOR THE LARGE DIFFERENCES THAT ARE VERY PROMINENT. YOU CAN MENTION THE
ASPECT WHICH IS THE SMALLEST OR THE LARGEST IN THE DATA GIVEN. ANY ASPECTS THAT ARE SIMILAR
SHOULD BE MENTIONED NEXT. YOU SHOULD FURTHER MENTION ABOUT THE ASPECT THAT HAS REMAINED
UNCHANGED OR CONSTANT THROUGHOUT.
II. COMPARING INFORMATION: 
• IF THE CHART MENTIONS TWO DIFFERENT PARTIES, FOR EXAMPLE, MEN AND WOMEN, REFER TO BOTH OF
THEM IN THE ANALYTICAL PARAGRAPH. IF THERE IS ANY CONTRAST OR COMPARISON THAT COULD BE
DRAWN, YOU MUST PRESENT IT EFFECTIVELY. IF THE CHART IS ABOUT A PARTICULAR TIME PERIOD OR
HIGHLIGHTS TRENDS OF SEVERAL YEARS, MENTION EACH YEAR IN A CONCISE MANNER. IF ANY
COMPARISON OR CONTRAST CAN BE DONE FOR TWO OR MORE YEARS, YOU SHOULD WRITE ABOUT IT
TOO.
III. MENTIONING QUANTITIES: 

• WHEN INCLUDING NUMBERS AND FIGURES, THEIR ACCURACY MUST BE ENSURED. THERE ARE A NUMBER
OF WAYS THAT CAN BE USED TO DESCRIBE QUANTITIES, FOR EXAMPLE- PERCENTAGE, FRACTION, RATIOS,
ETC.
IV. CONNECTING SENTENCES: 

• IF DIFFERENT INFORMATION OR IDEAS ARE THERE, YOU SHOULD USE CONNECTORS OR LINKING PHRASES
TO LINK THEM LOGICALLY. THE SENTENCES OF THE PARAGRAPH SHOULD BE SEQUENTIAL AND CONNECTED
RATIONALLY.
3. THE CONCLUSION

• THE LAST PARAGRAPH SHOULD SUMMARISE THE IDEA MENTIONED AND THE INFORMATION IN GENERAL.
IT SHOULD BE CONCLUDING IN NATURE AND ACT AS THE CLOSING STATEMENT. ONE SHOULD KEEP IN
MIND THAT ONE MUST NOT INCLUDE ANY PERSONAL OPINIONS, CONCLUSIONS, OR OBSERVATIONS. YOU
SHOULD SIMPLY STICK TO THE FACTS.
YOU NEED NOT DISPOSE OF THE INFORMATION TO WRITE A GOOD ANALYTICAL PARAGRAPH. THE KEY IS
TO CHOOSE WISELY THE IMPORTANT INFORMATION, ORGANIZE IT WELL, STATE CORRECT FACTS AND
SUMMARISE IT PROPERLY.
USEFUL TIPS FOR WRITING AN ANALYTICAL PARAGRAPH

• FOR AN INTRODUCTION, YOU CAN START WITH THE FOLLOWING PHRASES-

• THE CHART GIVEN ABOVE DESCRIBES
• THE TABLE SUGGESTS
• THE LINE GRAPH SHOWS
• THE DATA GIVEN PROVIDES INFORMATION ABOUT
• THE PIE CHART ILLUSTRATES, ETC.
• FOR DESCRIBING TRENDS, USE PHRASES AND WORDS LIKE- A PATTERN OF GROWTH, RAPIDLY DOUBLED,
SKYROCKETED, STRIKING INCREASE, PEAKED, SOARING RATES, DECLINED, PLUMMETED, LEVELED OFF,
STAGNATED, FLUCTUATE, STARTING TO RISE, STARTING TO FALL, DROP DOWN, SLIGHTLY, ETC.

• FOR DESCRIBING QUANTITIES, USE VARIOUS STYLES LIKE- 48% OF, ONE-THIRD OF, NEARLY ONE-FOURTH
OF, ALMOST 80%, MAJORITY, ON AVERAGE, TWICE AS MUCH, ALMOST EQUAL, THE HIGHEST, THE LOWEST,
VERY CLOSE TO 2%, ROUGHLY, APPROXIMATELY 5% OF, JUST UNDER THREE PERCENT, ETC.

• FOR ESTABLISHING A RELATIONSHIP OR CONTRAST, USE PHRASES AND WORDS LIKE- RELATIONSHIP

BETWEEN, SIMILARLY, IN CONTRAST WITH, IN COMPARISON TO, BUT IN THE OPPOSITE CASE, HOWEVER,
WHEREAS, WHEN IT COMES TO, AS OPPOSED TO, WHILE, STRIKING DIFFERENCE, NOTICEABLE DIFFERENCE,
ETC.

• FOR THE CONCLUSION AND OTHER CONNECTING PHRASES USE- OVERALL, SUBSEQUENTLY, IN ALL, IN A

NUTSHELL, FOR THE CHART GIVEN, IN SHORT, STRIKING CHANGES, INCLUDING, THEREFORE, ETC.
LET’S PRACTICE

• QUESTION 1: BELOW IS A GRAPH GIVEN SHOWING BIRTH AND DEATH RATES IN A COUNTRY FROM 1901 TO
2101. WRITE AN ANALYTICAL PARAGRAPH (100-120 WORDS).
• ANSWER 1:
THE GRAPH SHOWS BIRTH AND DEATH RATES  STARTING FROM 1901 TILL 2101.
SINCE 1901, THE BIRTH RATE HAS REMAINED MORE THAN THE DEATH RATE UNTIL 2041. BIRTH RATE WAS
20000 IN 1901 AND STARTED INCREASING GRADUALLY. IT PEAKED IN 1961 TO AROUND 65000. FROM 1961,
BIRTH RATE HAS FLUCTUATED MULTIPLE TIMES BETWEEN 50000 AND 60000. IT IS EXPECTED TO DECLINE FOR
THE COMING YEARS REACHING APPROXIMATELY 42000 BY 2101.
ON THE OTHER HAND, THE DEATH RATE STOOD AT AROUND 10000 IN 1901 AND THEN HAS INCREASED STEADILY.
IT IS EXPECTED TO RISE STRIKINGLY FROM 2021 BEFORE LEVELLING OFF TO APPROXIMATELY 60000 BETWEEN
2061 AND 2081. THE GRAPH INDICATES A SLIGHT DECLINE IN DEATHS IN THE YEAR 2101.
THE GRAPH SHOWS THE HUGE GAP BETWEEN BIRTH RATE AND DEATH DURING 1961 TO 2001. HOWEVER, THIS
GAP IS EXPECTED TO REDUCE IN THE LATER YEARS. OVERALL, AS OPPOSED TO THE PREVAILING TRENDS, THE
DEATH RATE WILL BE MORE THAN THE BIRTH RATE IN THE LATER HALF OF THE 21ST CENTURY.